Robb Nash in Wollaston Lake on May 18. Photo by Dean Bear.
A Manitoba man who is sharing his story of battling mental illness and depression with students across the country brought his message to students in Wollaston Lake.
The Robb Nash Project is an initiative that engages young people through the power of music and storytelling to inspire hope and encourage positive life choices. Robb Nash is the front man for the group, and started the band with other musicians who had overcome addiction, depression or suicidal thoughts.
His struggle with mental health began at the age of 17, when a car crash on a Manitoba highway shattered his skull.
“Me and some buddies went out joyriding when the roads were bad, and he ran head-on into a semi. My friends were fine and they ran from the vehicle. Meanwhile, I was found with no pulse and not breathing, and I was actually pronounced dead on the scene,” said Nash.
He was resuscitated and spent time in a coma, but eventually recovered. The lingering pain and trauma from the accident manifested as suicidal thoughts.
“I didn’t wake up enlightened and wanting to change the world. I woke up bitter and angry, and I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I kept it bottled up inside,” Nash told the students at Father Megret High School.
His message to students is that they don’t have to die like he did, before they start to live.
Robb and his band bring their presentation to more than 200 schools each year, and have reached over one million students to date through school shows and social media. He walks head-on into difficult topics, knowing that bullying, addiction, self-harm and suicide are on young people’s minds.
“I just decided I wanted to tell my story to as many people as I could. I never wanted to be a musician, but I figured music would be a good way to tell a story,” he added.
At one time, Nash had a recording contract and was churning out top 10 hits, but he decided to rip up his recording contract to concentrate on spreading his message to students.
“I was able to make it through that dark time and I wondered, how many other people are out there dealing with the same thing? That’s why we gave up the glory for what we do now,” added Nash.
At every show, Nash invites youth who have struggled with suicidal thoughts to hand him their past suicide notes as a gesture of strength. He decided to tattoo more than 100 of those names on his arms. In eight years, the bandmates have shared their stories to more than a million young people across Canada through their music.
“What started out as an eight-month project has turned into eight years, but I wouldn’t change a thing about it,” he said.
Nash says even though they have visited over 1200 schools across the country, one visit doesn’t mean that they won’t be back in the future.
“Usually when we leave, the schools book us two or three years in the future. When we go back to schools that we were at four or five years ago, the students are waiting to tell us they have kept a promise that they’ve stopped using drugs or cutting, and that’s a beautiful thing to see,” he added.
The Robb Nash Project has received numerous awards, such as the 2012 Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, the 2013 Bell Kaleidoscope of Hope Award.
Nash has also been featured on Bell Let’s Talk, which is designed to break the silence around mental health and mental health support in Canada.